Staackman was one of the leading German Orientalist painters of the late nineteenth century. He was born in Zennhusen, studying at the Munich Akademie from 1870 to 1873. In 1874 he and fellow students travelled to North Africa, notably to Algeria and Egypt where he made numerous studies of the colourful bazaars and native architecture. He remained longer than his companions did. Then like many artists travelling in the East he returned home to produce his finished works, not least because oil paints tended to melt in the heat of the Orient. He was widely appreciated both in Germany and England, exhibiting a number of pictures abroad, notably in London and Manchester.